Diabetic Neuropathy Symptoms in Plain English

When diabetic neuropathy symptoms strike, many things can start to go wrong at the same time. Some of these have symptoms and many may not show symptoms until considerable damage has been done to the vast network of nerve fibers that control every function of our body without our conscious control.

Be thankful, in one sense, that you have some diabetic neuropathy symptoms to let you know that you have problems developing. Once you realize you have a problem -- and you have reason to believe it may be caused by Type-2 Diabetes -- you have a strong incentive to take action to correct the cause of the symptoms.

Left untreated, most diabetes symptoms will only get worse.

Remember: Correcting the cause of diabetic neuropathy is fairly easy, compared to fighting the many symptoms that may pop up later in the progress of the disease. Reversing the symptoms of diabetes is relatively easy, compared to dealing with symptom after symptom (which is also far more expensive and troublesome.)

The 4 Types of Diabetic Neuropathy

The most common form of diabetic neuropathy is called Peripheral Neuropathy. This is felt as pain , numbness, or tingling sensations in the feet, legs, hands, and arms. Occasionally, it may present itself as the inability to feel hot or cold in these parts of the body.

Sometimes the mere touch of a bed sheet or clothing against the skin will cause extreme pain in those suffering from peripheral neuropathy.

Another form of neuropathy is Autonomic Neuropathy. These nerves serve us as automatic, mostly-unconscious control "software" that cause our heart to beat slowly or fast, that control the diverse processes of digestion, that cause us to sweat when it is appropriate (or not), to shiver when we're cold, that control the focusing of our eyes, that direct our body's reactions to sexual arousal, and that control our lungs.

If you think about it, when the nerves of the Autonomic system fail to properly regulate our heart rate, our breathing, our digestion, and the like -- and we have no conscious control over these functions -- as you can imagine, everyday living can get difficult.

The third grouping of diabetic neuropathy symptoms is called Proximal Neuropathy and here, the pain usually is centered on one side of the body. It often starts as pain or weakness in the hips or buttocks, thighs, and legs. It is more common in older adults with diabetes and can make it difficult to get up from a chair, for instance.

The fourth grouping of symptoms of diabetic neuropathy is called Focal Neuropathy. Here, the pain is focused in one specific area. It occurs most frequently in the torso, head, or the leg. The pain of Focal Neuropathy may be sharp and unpredictable, but it usually goes away on its own over a period of weeks or months.

Some of the pains associated with Focal Neuropathy may easily be misinterpreted for other diseases, such as heart disease, heart attack, or appendicitis -- if they are in the torso, or cancer, if they occur in the head, behind the eye, possibly associated with double vision.

Testing may be necessary to determine whether the pain you are experiencing is due to Focal Neuropathy caused by Diabetes, or perhaps something more serious and urgent in nature. This will be a question your physician must help you answer.

For more in-depth authoritative information on this subject, go to http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/neuropathies/#symptoms